Card operated sensing means



Dec. 31, 1963 J. B. LOHR ETAL 3,116,409 CARD OPERATED SENSING MEANSFiled Nov. 23, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I FIG. I

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INVENTOR. JOSEPH LOH PRESTO E Zl AGENT Dec. 31, 1963 J LOHR T 3,116,409

CARD OPERATED SENSING MEANS Filed Nov. 23, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fl G. 565 INVENTORS JOSEPH B. LOHR PRES ON E. ZINK m AGENT United States PatentOfiice 3,ll6,i-9 Patented Dec. 31, 1963 The present invention relates toimprovement in record card operated sensing means of the star wheel typewhich are rotated for effecting a series of electrical impulses whilethe record cards are in motion through the usual card feeding mechanismassociated with accounting and statistical machines.

In particular the invention provides for improvement in a sensing meanssuch as that which is disclosed in the US. Patent 2,938,667, issued toFritz A. Deutsch May 31, 1960. As set forth in said patent, data to beanalyzed by the sensing devices usually appear as perforations effectedin successive vertical columns of a punched record card provided withdata index positions located in horizontal rows and vertical columns,the data being represented in columns of the record card in accordancewith a chosen code. The cards are conveyed along suitable guide means topass a sensing station which may comprise a line of individual starwheel type sensing members, one for each of the indicia recordinghorizontal rows of the card. At this sensing station, perforations inthe record card will operate the start wheels which cause opening andclosing of individual related contact members for effecting electriccircuits utilized to control various accumulating, printing and otherrelated mechanisms, in well-known manner.

Where a series of closely spaced perforations appear upon a record cardthe start wh els are rotated continuously thereby and will effect aseries of electrical impulses in accordance therewith. In the abovepatent this is accomplished by engagement of the spokes of any rotatingstar wheel with a suitable cam element which causes the wheel to beoscillated bodily for making and breaking related contact members and soeffect an electrical pulse for each step of movement of a star wheel bythe card perforations.

Record cards may contain any desired number of record columns, onecomplete card of well-known type containing 80 columns, which may bedivided selectively into a plurality of fields each employing one ormore record columns as desired. Thus it may be that a considerableportion of a record card remains unpunched, and as the card is fed pastthe sensing station the start wheels will rest upon the unpunchedsurface of the card in a sliding engagement therewith. in actualpractice it has been found that the coefiicicnt of friction between thestar wheels and a record card may frequently vary, this probably beingcaused by changes in climatic conditions and by the various dyes usedwhen coloring the cards for code identification. Thus at times suchfrictional engagement is suificient to cause one or more of the sensingwheels to be rotated by an unpunched portion of a card, whereby errorsin the pulsing signals are liable to occur.

it is an object of the present invention to prevent such misoperation ofthe sensing means by the provision for positive step detent means whichact to cooperate automatically with a star sensing wheel and to preventa rotation thereof only under such condition as wherein the sensingwheel rides upon the card surface.

Another object of the invention provides for a fixed stop means whichwill automatically interrupt the rotation of any star wheel as saidwheel is displaced to a given position when sensing a nonperforation ina card during operations thereof and which stop means permits a sensingrotation of the star wheel at other displaced positions thereof.

The above and other objects, features, and advantages of the presentinvention will be more fully understood from the following detaileddescription when considered in connection with the accompanying drawingswhich form a part of the specification.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a vertical cross section of a star Wheel record card sensingdevice embodying the invention, the parts being in their normal lowerposition of rest and with a record card shown making a first contactwith a tooth of the sensing wheel.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged detail elevation showing a star wheel in apartially raised condition to that of FIG. 1, as would occur when saidwheel rotates past the high point of a control cam during operationsthereof by a record card.

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FlG. 2 but wheel raised to a higherposition, as radially adjacent teeth thereof come to surface of a recordcard.

PEG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3 but showing the star wheel in yetanother position, as when during an operation a tooth thereof enters afirst perforation of t .e record card.

PEG. 5 is a fragmentary plan view of the sensing members.

As fully described in the above referred to Patent 2,938,667 recordcards 2t? are fed seriatim from a suitable hopper and into a passage 22formed by guide plates 23, 24 along which the cards move past a sensingstation represented in general by a row of separate sensing elements 25of a well-known star wheel type. For the purpose hereinafter to bedescribed however the devices of the present application include startwheels which comprise five teeth in lieu of the six teeth of the wheelsshown in said patent. The sensing wheels 25" extend in a linetransversely of the passage 22 and correspond in number and position tothe twelve index point positions of a record column of the well-knowncards. Each sensing wheel 25 controls the opening and closing of anindividual related contact element 63 and so will directly effectthereby a series of electrical impulses to related read-out circuitleads 127, said impulses being in accordance with a series of dataperforations within a selective group of columns on the card sensed bythe related wheels 25 during a movement of the record card past thesensing station, as in the manner fully set forth in said referencepatent.

The sensing wheels 25 are each rotatably mounted upon the remote end ofrelated levers 64 fulcrumed upon a transverse rod 65 supported withinthe ends of a transverse frame as mounted above the upper surface of theguide plate 23, which plate together with bottom guide plate 24 formsthe record card feed passage 22. Upon the opposite end of each of thelevers 64 is mounted an insulation block or each having engagement witha related one of the contact elements as above set forth. The contactelements as are formed of spring stock and all suitably anchored withina common contact bar, not shown. Contact elements as are constantlyurged toward engagement with related contact studs 69 mounted within thethe frame 65 and each electrically insulated thereof through means ofsuitable insulation collars '7tl. Thus in the normal position of theparts, illustrated in FIG. 1, contact elements 63 will serve to holdeach of their related levers or in a clockwise position, wherein onetooth 25b of a pair of angularly adjacent teeth of the five-tooth starwheels 25 is held into engagement with an upper surface 71 of atransverse plate '72, secured to the bottom surface of the guide plate 2a The tooth 25a of said pair of teeth has engagement with a surface 711'of the plate 72, said latter surface being in a plane perpendicular tothe plane of surface '71. Thus a cam surface 73 of said showing the starwhen a pair of rest upon the top showing a plurality plate formed at theapex of said surfaces is adapted to extend within the space as formed bya pair of adjacent teeth of the star wheels 25.

As a record card is fed along the passage 22 a leading edge of the cardwill effect engagement with the tooth 25b and will rotate the wheel 25,so that said tooth engaging cam surface 73 will rock the related lever64- in a counterclockwise direction, as tooth 25b rotates to theposition illustrated in FIG. 2. There will be no perforations in themarginal portion of the record cards and as the card movement continuesto rotate the wheels 25, a next succeeding tooth 25c of each of thewheels engages the marginal top surface of the card and will rock therespective levers 64 to a further counterclockwise position, asillustrated in FIG. 3 wherein adjacent teeth 25b- 25c of the wheels 25rest upon the card. In the above operations all of the contact elements63 are thus caused to be rocked downwardly out of engagement with theirrespective contact studs 69. Immediately thereafter live circuit iscaused in any suitable manner to be extended in common to all thecontact elements 63. As a record card continues in movement past thesensing station the record columns are brought successively into sensingposi tion and where the corresponding index point position contains acode hole the tooth 250 of the related star wheel 25 will first entersuch hole until stopped by engagement with the surface 71 of plate 72,as illustrated in FlG. 4, the said surface being spaced slightly belowthe card bottom surface. Thereafter the card movement will rotate tooth250 over the cam surface 73 of plate 71 and cause a reciprocatorymovement to be effected to the related lever 64.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that code perforations may bespaced within a card at wide intervals or in a series of closely spacedintervals and that operations as effected by such perforations to thestar wheels 25 will, through means of cam member 73, cause acorresponding series of oscillations to be effected to the relatedlevers 64. Such oscillations of lever 64 are adapted to effect acorresponding series of make and break operations to the related contactelements 63 for directly effecting thereby a series of electricalread-out impulses which are to be selectively transmitted to the usualrelay devices adapted for controlling operations of a tabulating machineor the like in the well-known manner.

To prevent mutilation of the card edges at the perforations it isessential that the star sensing wheels be as freely rotatable aspossible. Also the resilient contact spring members 63 should be aslight as possible consistent with holding the star wheels in properengagement with any record card.

Where code perforations are spaced at a wide interval it is intendedthat the record card be advanced while a pair of adjacent teeth of thestar Wheels rest in a slideable engagement upon the upper card surfacein such manner that no rotation is effected thereto by the card surface.

It has been found, however, that frequently irregularities will occur inthe record card surfaces, which may be due to atmospheric conditions orby reason of certain dyes used in coloring the cards for identification.Thus, at times, the coefficient of friction of a card with a sensingwheel may be sufiicient to cause the wheel to be rotated by the cardsurface. Such operations are immaterial if no card perforation isinvolved, since the lever 64 remains in raised position sufficient tomaintain contact 63 free of the contact 69. However, if such anoperation should occur at any time that a card perforation is beingbrought to the position for engaging a tooth of the star wheel, saidwheel may be in a partly rotated condition and thereby will be out oftime for proper engagement with the perforation. Thus an advancing toothof the wheel may bridge the intended card perforation and a pulsingsignal will be lost.

While spring detent means are well known which may be utilized to engagewith the star wheels for retarding a rotation thereof such means areobjectional in that by loading up the wheel they will cause damage tooccur to the edge of the card perforations during the operationsthereof.

Applicants provide the following very simple control means which isadapted without increasing the load of the star wheels to actautomatically for preventing such misoperation of the star wheels bypositively preventing any mistiming of the wheel with respect to anengagement thereof with a card perforation.

Extending transversely of the star wheels 25 is a plate '75 which isfast within the left and right support frames 66. The lower end of platehas a finger 76 which projects downward at an angle and terminates at afixed position for cooperating with any one of the teeth of the starwheels 25 in the following manner.

Upon movement of a record card which advances the star wl eels 25 fromtheir normal position of rest, shown in FIG. 1, to pass over the highpoint of cam 73, as for the position illustrated in FIG. 2, the tooth25d of each wheel is caused to move in a path as indicated by h brokenline 74 in FIG. 1. Thus at this time the teeth of the star wheels arepermitted to rotate freely and pass beneath finger 76. In a continuedmovement of said star wheels, whereby a pair of adjacent teeth thereofare brought to rest upon the surface of a record card, as earlierdescribed, the wheels are caused to be raised and any succeeding tooth25c thereof is moved thereby to a raised position slightly to rightwardbut still free of the finger 76, as shown in FIG. 3. if now in a furthmovement of the record card a SUfilCiCl'll friction between the card andtooth 250 is generated to rotate the wheel 25, the tooth 25c thereof,unless otherwise prevented, would move in a path indicated by the brokenline 77 of FIG. 3. However, in the devices of the present inventionfinger 76 is adapted under the above conditions to intercept such amovement of tooth 25c and will prevent rotation of the star wheel atthis time. Thus an advancing card perforation will now engage therespective tooth 250 of any star wheel uniformly at a given point forproper timing relation therewith and will thereby prevent the previouslydescribed misoperations as would otherwise occur.

As a card perforation moves into position for engagement by a tooth 25csaid tooth in entering the card perforation will first permit a slightdownward movement of the related wheel 25 with its lever 64, and tooth25a is caused to be moved downwardly and free of the finger 76, as shownin FIG. 4. Thereafter as a series of closely spaced perforationssuccessively engage each succeeding one of the teeth for rotating thestar wheel any upper tooth corresponding to the tooth 256 will each timebe operated in a path of movement free of the finger 76.

It will now be apparent that applicants novel devices provided for meanswhich in very simple manner will act to automatically and positivelyprevent the operation of a star sensing wheel at such time as when amisoperation may occur thereto and which permits also without anyadditional load thereon any regular operations of the said wheels aseffected in the normal operations thereof.

While the above description sets forth a preferred embodiment of theinvention and the manner of use to which it is to be put, it will beunderstood that the invention is not limited to the precise formdisclosed, but is susceptible to embodiment in various other forms.

What is claimed is:

In a card sensing device having a plurality of multitooth sensing wheelsselectively rotatable by record card perforations during an advancingmovement of the card: the improvement comprising a fixed control memberin common to said sensing wheels and being normally free of the teeththereof whereby to permit said rotation of said wheels, and whereinduring such rotation said sensing wheels are adapted to be lifted bysaid advancing movement of the record card whereby, to position a pair:

of adjacent teeth of selected ones of said sensing wheels for slidingsupport upon the upper surface of a record card, and in Which any giventooth of any sensing Wheel is brought thereby into jnxtaoosition for asubsequent cooperation with the said fixed control member and whereinduring a subsequent advancing movement of the record card frictionalengagement therewith tends to further rotate and lift the said sensingWheels for engag ing the said given tooth thereof with said fixedcontrol member, and in which said fixed control member thereupon in apositive manner Will prevent such a further rotation of any ones of saidsensing Wheels, and control means of said record card cooperable withany said sensing Wheels for releasing selective ones thereof from saidcontrol member during a further advance of the record card, said lastmentioned control means comprising the selectively spaced perforationsin the said record card.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS UNITEDSTATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 8,116,409December 31, 1963 Joseph B. Lohr et al.

It is hereby certified that error appears in the above numbered patentreq'liring correction and that the said Letters Patent should read ascorrected below.

Column 1, lines 34 and 49, and column 2, line 34, for "start", eachoccurrence, read star column 6, line 1, for "of" read 0n =L.

Signed and sealed this 2nd day of June 1964.

(SEAL) Attest:

ERNEST W; SWIDER EDWARD J. BRENNER Aticsting Officer Commissioner ofPatents

